In hydrovac excavation, a jet of water is blasted into soil to liquify the soil and then the liquified soil is sucked up using a vacuum truck. The jet of water is directed into the soil using a blast wand that is manually operated. Various types of wand have been used for this purpose. Typically, the wand consists of a pipe with a valve on one end and blast nozzles on the other end. The blast nozzles generally blast straight out, in the direction of the pipe, so the thrust of the nozzles pushes against the pipe handle, thus tiring the operator. Also, with the nozzles blasting straight out, a hole is created in the soil and rebounding water shoots directly back at the operator's face and body. This makes the wands dirty to use, and potentially dangerous due to soil fragments shooting into the face and eyes of the operator.